EXPLORING HALO SUBSTRUCTURE WITH GIANT STARS: SUBSTRUCTURE IN THE LOCAL HALO AS SEEN IN THE GRID GIANT STAR SURVEY INCLUDING EXTENDED TIDAL DEBRIS FROM {omega}CENTAURI
- Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4325 (United States)
- National Optical Astronomy Observatories, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, AZ 85726 (United States)
- Las Campanas Observatory, Casilla 601, La Serena (Chile)
- Department of Astronomy, New Mexico State University/Apache Point Observatory, Sunspot NM 88349 (United States)
We present the latitude-normalized radial velocity (v{sub b} ) distribution of 3318 subsolar metallicity, V {approx}< 13.5 stars from the Grid Giant Star Survey (GGSS) in southern hemisphere fields. The sample includes giants mostly within {approx}5 kpc from the Galactic disks and halo. The nearby halo is found to (1) exhibit significant kinematical substructure, and (2) be prominently represented by several velocity coherent structures, including a very retrograde 'cloud' of stars at l {approx} 285 Degree-Sign and extended, retrograde 'streams' visible as relatively tight l-v{sub b} sequences. One sequence in the fourth Galactic quadrant lies within the l-v{sub b} space expected to contain tidal debris from the 'star cluster' {omega}Centauri. Not only does {omega}Cen lie precisely in this l-v{sub b} sequence, but the positions and v{sub b} of member stars match those of N-body simulations of tidally disrupting dwarf galaxies on orbits ending with {omega}Cen's current position and space motion. But the ultimate proof that we have very likely found extended parts of the {omega}Cen tidal stream comes from echelle spectroscopy of a subsample of the stars that reveals a very particular chemical abundance signature known to occur only in {omega}Cen. The newly discovered {omega}Cen debris accounts for almost all fourth Galactic quadrant retrograde stars in the southern GGSS, which suggests {omega}Cen is a dominant contributor of retrograde giant stars in the inner Galaxy.
- OSTI ID:
- 22047979
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 747, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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